Mental Health

Mentality of mental heath

Mental health gains importancewith rising stress at end of year

Madelyn Lerew lerewmad000@hsestudents.org Kindell Readus readukin000@hsestudents.org

As the end of the year approaches, students can feel overwhelmed and stressed with the abundance and stressed with the abundance of work and events the end of work and events the end of the school year produces. of the school year produces. Students' mental health begins Students' mental health begins to take the back burner as to take the back burner as important tests and nal important tests and nal projects start to come to the projects start to come to the forefront in their minds. forefront in their minds. “ e end of the year is not “ e end of the year is not good for my mental health,” good for my mental health,” junior Sophia Butt said. “I get junior Sophia Butt said. “I get stressed out really easily and it stressed out really easily and it doesn’t help that I have nals doesn’t help that I have nals and AP exams coming up.” and AP exams coming up.” Mental health, something that Mental health, something that impacts every part of a person's impacts every part of a person's life, can take lesser importance life, can take lesser importance in a school with a culture that in a school with a culture that puts so much pressure on puts so much pressure on the super cial, according the super cial, according to sophomore Clara to sophomore Clara Hadedorn. Hadedorn. “A student’s success is heavily dependent on their grades,” Hagedorn said. “In my experience, the focus on one’s GPA has been destructive towards my mental health.” is emphasis on grades can come from teachers and how they run their classrooms. Some teachers make a point to highlight students' mental health, while others tend to focus on ensuring that students keep their grades up. “I think the school prioritizes grades,” freshman Jordan Bishop said. “Especially when teachers want assignments done a certain way when there are other ways going about it. e school and teachers stress what happens when students don’t get good grades and the di erences between grades in honors classes versus regular classes. ey also implement strict deadlines for assignments, missing or late work.” Balancing the heightened stress and anxiety caused by this time of year can be a challenge. “I maintain balance between mental health and schoolwork by designating time for each,” Hagedorn said. “Still, I continue to struggle with this balance. My grades depend upon my mental health just as much as my mental health depends upon my grades; if one falters, the other crashes.” ough the end of the year can be stressful, there are ways to manage the elevated work load and pressure. Doing things like making a study schedule and seeing your friends can help manage stress, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “I cope with stress at the end of the year by taking time to calm down and do things that I enjoy,'' Hagedorn said. “Sometimes [when]the stress starts to build up, I fall slightly

behind and the fear of failure becomes extreme. at’s why I must take time to remind myself that I am okay.” When managing stress, one solution is to remove yourself from the problem. is can be done by carving out time to focus on activities outside of school “When I get really stressed out I focus a lot more on doing things that relax me,” Butt said. “ is can be hanging out with my family or friends or listening to music, which really helps me.” While the idea of looming deadlines is anxiety inducing for some, others nd relief in knowing that there is an end in sight. “I think the end of the year is bene cial to my mental health,” Bishop said. “It is honestly a stress reliever, and it gives me something to look forward to.” Even though there is light at the end of the tunnel, there can be a lot of things creating shadows. Teachers sometimes have to cram in last minute material that they need to cover for the nal. is can add more stress and new worries to students already battling through this nal month of school. “I think it would be a lot less stressful if classes focused more on reviewing for the exam so that students feel more prepared rather than assigning more work,” Butt said. “I’ve had some of my classes assign busy work which is not very fun.” e FHS administration does attempt to help with students' mental health and they do this through employability lessons. Using things like the mood meter, they try to help students regulate their emotions, however, for some students it can do more harm than good. “ e employability lessons, I think, are somewhat useless,” I think, are somewhat useless,” Bishop said. “Most, if not all, of Bishop said. “Most, if not all, of the things in the PowerPoints the things in the PowerPoints are common sense, and have are common sense, and have been repeated to students been repeated to students many times. Personally, [the many times. Personally, [the lessons] don’t a ect me at lessons] don’t a ect me at all, and prevent me from all, and prevent me from utilizing that time to utilizing that time to study [or] to get other study [or] to get other work done. ey have work done. ey have zero in uence on my zero in uence on my mental health.” mental health.” Even while trying to Even while trying to nd methods to manage nd methods to manage stress, students' mental stress, students' mental and emotional health and emotional health can be disregarded for a can be disregarded for a few extra points here or few extra points here or there. “ ere are times “ ere are times when my schoolwork when my schoolwork takes priority over takes priority over my mental health,” my mental health,” Hagedorn said. “I wish Hagedorn said. “I wish it was easier to balance it was easier to balance the two, but it is always the two, but it is always a struggle to maintain a struggle to maintain my grades and my mental my grades and my mental health.” When school work When school work starts to pile up it starts to pile up it becomes easy to put it becomes easy to put it o due to how much o due to how much anxiety it can produce. “I try to not procrastinate, but I usually fail,” Butt said. “I normally get home, take some time to home, take some time to myself and then do my myself and then do my homework, before I go homework, before I go to bed. is helps me to not to bed. is helps me to not worry about it in the morning and to get some sleep.” One in two students feel anxious and worry about the di culty of tests, even if they are well prepared for them, according to OECD iLibrary. Despite these statistics, prioritizing mental health and self care can lessen the hold of anxiety. Graphics by Kindell Readus and Madelyn Lerew.